Indian Navy’s eight landing craft utility (LCU) L-58 was launched by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd (GRSE) in Kolkata, West Bengal. It is the last vessel in a series of eight ships of LCU MK-IV project designed and built by GRSE for the Indian Navy. It was launched by Neelam Pratap Singh Rudy, wife of Union minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy. Key FactsLCU L-58 is fully designed in-house by GRSE. It has displacement of 830 tonnes. It can attain a maximum speed of 15 knots with an endurance of more than 1,500 nautical miles. It can be deployed for multiple activities like operations for landing troops ashore, disaster relief operations and humanitarian aid operations and evacuation of personnel from distant islands. It is capable of carrying two tanks or four special vehicles and 160 troops for landing at remote beach heads. It is armed with two CRN 91 naval guns, two heavy machine guns, four medium machine guns and portable air defence system. All 8 LCU vessels have almost 90% of their components indigenous. They are deployed for maritime security of Lakshadweep Islands in Arabian Sea and Andaman and Nicobar Islands in Bay of Bengal.